Iconic Geier’s Sausage Kitchen working to rebuild following weekend fire

SARASOTA, Fla. - An early-morning fire on Sunday spread through the back half of Geier’s Sausage Kitchen in Sarasota. 

"We are hoping to save this machinery. We don’t know with the water damage you know," said Operating Manager Nakita Chadwick. 

Chadwick remains strong, despite the long road ahead.

"They think it started right here," Chadwick pointed out. 

This is more than a business to Chadwick. 

The store is part of her family’s legacy, one that’s been passed down over decades. 

Her great-grandparents operated a Geier’s in Germany, which remains open today. 

Then her grandparents continued their work in a Detroit meat market. 

They eventually moved to open the iconic storefront off U.S 41 in Sarasota in 1983. 

"It was really hard to watch, You never think of something like this is going to happen. You prepare, talk to insurance companies but when this is actually happening. You sit back and it’s heartbreaking," she said.  

Sarasota County Fire crews are still working to determine the exact cause of the fire, but it is believed to be electrical. 

Despite the damage, Chadwick and her family are pushing through. They know it could be upwards of six months or more, but they are working to make a comeback and to reopen their doors to the community. 

"There’s not a place like us left. Just trying to come back and come back stronger and hopefully we will be here for another 40 years," she said. 

With family and their employees by their side, Geier’s Sausage Kitchen plans to rise like a Phoenix from the ashes. 

"My Opa comes in everyday when they’re here. He comes in and helps and my grandmother comes in all the time. It’s their legacy too and you want to make sure it’s done right by them," said Chadwick.